500 words a day

500 words a day

496 to go! How do you folks do it? How do you write 500 words in one day, get them cleaned up, comprehensible, sometimes very funny, and post the whole shebang online? I am terrible at this. I fight with every thought, with the words to express those thoughts, with...
Forget perfection

Forget perfection

When I write, I start with all good intentions. I open a new Word document, stare at the empty whiteness, and flee immediately to the safety of the Lifestyle section on MSN.com. Of course, I need to read the “Top 25 Ways to Look Younger” before I write a word. I’m 58...
On Writing

On Writing

My favorite Stephen King quote. If you don’t read, you can’t write I can’t tell you how many times people have approached me at book signings and writing clinics and told me they want to write a book, have to write a book, they’re going to write a book! But I can tell...
On Repetition

On Repetition

“When we came out of the theater, we all agreed: the film was a waste of money, a waste of time, and a waste of energy.” Ah, repetition. People, particularly presidents of countries, cult leaders, and motivational speakers, use it frequently in speeches made to huge...